Phonographic translating device



May 15, 1951 z. I fr--oRr-:ST- 2,553,140

PHONOGRAPHIC TRANSLATING DEVICE Filed June l, 1946 Patented May 15, 1951PnoNoGRAPHrc TRANSLATING DEVICE Louis Z. La Forest, Parsippany-TroyHills Township, Morris County, N. J., assigner to Thomas A. Edison,Incorporated, West Orange, N. J., corporation of New Jersey ApplicationJune 1, 1946, Serial No. 673,720

Claims.

This invention relates to a novel device for recording on and/orreproducing from phonographic records.

The invention has particular utility in connection with dictatingmachines of the type which use cylindrical records, and is herein shownand described in connection with such a machine, but no unnecessarylimitation thereto is intended.

It is an object of my invention to provide a unitary phonographicrecording and/or reproducing device having a floating stylus systemmovable independently of the translating unit and operatively connecteddirectly to the vibratile portion of the translating unit.

It is another object to provide novel means for adjusting thetranslating unit of such a device relative to the record to conditionthe device selectively for recording and reproducing.

It is another object to provide a recording and/or reproducing devicehaving a floating stylus system including a single stylus lever which isslidably and pivotally connected directly to the vibratile portion ofthe translating unit.

It is another object to provide a novel means coacting with the floatingstylus system for controlling the pressure of the Styli against therecord.

It is another object to provide novel means in combination with thestylus pressure-control means for locking the floating stylus systemagainst a lateral freedom of movement when the device is conditioned forrecording.

It is a further object to provide an improved type of magnetictranslating device wherein the aforestated objectives are fulfilled.

Other objects and features of my invention lie in the details ofconstruction, arrangement of parts and combinations of elements of theembodiment herein shown and described as will be apparent from thefollowing description and the appended claims.

In the description of my invention reference is had to the accompanyingdrawings, of which:

Figure 1 is a side elevational view of a phonographic translating deviceaccording to my invention showing the device mounted on a standardcarriage of a dictating machine, the carriage being shown in sectionsubstantially on the line I-I of Figure 2;

Figure 2 is a fractional View to reduced scale of the carriage takensubstantially on the line 2--2 of Figure 1;

Figure 3 is a sectional view taken centrally through the translatingdevice and showing part 2 of the carriage structure in sectionsubstantially on the line 3--3 of Figure 2;

Figure 4 is a fractional projection of the mechanism of Figure 3;

`liigure 5 is a fractional sectional view taken substantially on theline 5 5 of Figure 3; and

Figure 6 is an end view of the translating unit and its mounting frame.

rlhe carriage I@ shown in Figures 1 and 2 for the translating device ofmy invention is one of standard form commonly used in dictating machinesand need not be herein described in detail. This carriage is mountedslidably on two cross rods II and I2 for traveling movement along arecord R mounted on a mandrel I3. Typically, the record is made of a waxmaterial and has a cylindrical shape, and the carriage is moved alongthe axis of the record. The carriage has a hollow rearward part Illatraversed by the mounting rods II and l2 which houses certain controlmechanism hereinafter described, and has a forward arm Ib which overliesthe record and which has a mounting aperture I4 with an interior seatingshoulder I 4a. for the translating device. At the rear of the carriagethere is a feed screw I5 which lies parallel to the mounting rods II andI2. This feed screw is engaged releasably by a feed nut I6 carried by arock lever I'l that is pivoted to a shaft I8 that is mounted on thecarriage. The lever II is biased clockwise by a spring I9 so as normallyto hold the feed nut I6 in engagement with the feed screw. It will beunderstood that the feed screw is coupled suitably to the mandrel I3 sothat it is turned concurrently as the record is rotated to drive thecarriage progressively across the record, but this coupling mechanism iswell known and need not be described.

Secured to the carriage and interposed between it and the rod l2 is along sleeve 2l! which serves to provide a long bearing surface for thecarriage on the rod. Mounted rotatably on this sleeve within therearward hollow part of the carriage is a cam device 2i which'comprisesthree collars 22, 23 and 25 spaced along the sleeve by interveningbushings 25 and all integrally secured together in one unit by rivetsZG. This cam device is turned on the sleeve by a hand lever 2l which ispivoted to the side of the carriage and coupled by a link 21a to a studscrew 26a on the collar 24 (Figure 2). cross pin 28 which coacts with anarm Ila of the lever I'I to control the engagement of the feed nut I 6with the feed screw I5. When the cam device is in the position itoccupies in Figure 1 On the collar 22 there is a this pin is free fromthe arm lla and the feed nut is held engaged with the feed screw by thespring i9 aforementioned. However, on turning the cam device clockwisethe pin 28 is moved against the arm Ila to disengage the feed nut fromthe feed screw, the pin coming to rest in a notch 29 in the arm Ila soas to detent the cam device in its operated position. When the camdevice is turned further clockwise the pin 28 is moved free from the armlla and then the feed nut I is reengaged with the feed screw by thespring I9. On returning the cam device the feed nut is disengaged andthen engaged, the same as in the clockwise movement of the cam device.

As is hereinafter described, the cam device 2 5 also controls thetranslating device to place it in recording and reproducing conditionsVrespectively when the cam device is in its mostv counterclockwise andclockwise positions and in a neutral condition when the cam device is inthe intermediate position above described.. Accordingprises a housing 30of an annular shape. This housing seats in the opening it of thecarriage onto the shoulder Ida, and is retained in its mounting positionby screws 3i which are threaded through the side Walls of the arm ilb ofthe carriage into engagement with openings 32 in the housing. I hehousing has a head portion 39a provided with two parallel mounting holes33 for a frame 3 4 of the translating unit 35. 'I'he frame Sli, shown indetail in Figures'B and 6, is an integral structure comprising twospaced plate members 34a between which) the translating unit is held byscrews 3B, abar-shaped upright member 34h which joins the plate membersand extends upwardly thereabove, and two side wings 34e which are joinedto the upper part of the bar member. Riveted to the wings 34o are tworods 31 which slidably engage the mounting holes 33 to support thetranslating unit for rectilinear movement in a, direction Voblique tothe record and a't right angles to the direction of travel of thecarriage. The translating unit is held stationary in the housing 39during recording and reproducing, but is shifted with respect to thehousing to condition the device for recording and reproducing as ishereinafter explained.

Preferably, atranslatingunit of the magnetic type is employed. This unitmay be one of a standard construction as shown. The illustrative form ofthis unit herein shown comprises a permanent magnet38 of a block shapeto theopposite magnetic pole faces of which are clamped by rivets 39(Figure 5) two non-permanent pole shoes 40. These pole shoes extend'beyond the magnet in parallel relation to one another and then terminatein inwardly-turned end 'po'rtions to form a narrow air gap 4ltlfier'ebe'tween,V Secured to the inner sides of the pole shoes atpositions adjacent the permanentmagnet are two non-permanent magneticblocks 42 which have confronting semicylindrical faces 42a, formingV abearing for an armature 43. The armature has a shaft 43a the endportions of which are covered by rubber sleeves 43D which engage thebearing faces 42a to provide a pivotal mounting for the armature and asuitable effective air gap between the armature and the blocks 42. The.outer. 'end portion of the armature extends through the air gap 4|wherein it is centrally held by rubber pads 44 interposed between it andthe ends of the pole shoes. Surrounding the armature is a coil spool 45having a central clearance opening for the armature. Wound on this spoolis a field coil dei.

The armature 113 constitutes the vibratiie por tion of the translatingunit. When a fluctuating current is passed through the field coil thearmature is vibrated in the bearings 92a in accordance with thevariations in the energizing current. On the other hand if the armatureis moved physically it will cause corresponding current variations to begenerated in the field coil. Thus, the translating unit may serve as themotor unit for a recorder and as a generator unit for a reproducer.

While a magnetic type of translating unit is preferred, it will beunderstood that my invention is not necessarily limited thereto but maybe carried out with translating units of other types. For example, theunit 35 might alternatively be of a crystal type and have the samegeneral shape as the unit 35 without requiring any substantial variationin the general construction of the mechanism of the translating device.

In dictating machines ofv the character described, the records vary inheight because after a record has been recorded on and the recordationis transcribed the outer surface layer of the record bearing therecordation is shaved off so that the record may be used again, thisprocess being repeated until the thickness of the record is reduced to aprescribed minimum value. In order that the translating device mayrecord on and reproduce from such records, it is provided with afloating stylus system. This system comprises a bifurcated support leverdi for the stylus means, which has two side arms fila which straddle thetranslating unit and which are universally pivoted to the frame 35i.IIhe universal Vpivotal mounting for the supporting lever comprises a`rectangular gimbal frame 46 pivoted at is on an axis `in a vertical'plane to the upper and lower portions of the frame 34. 'This gimballframe carries a laterally-extending rod Sil, which passes through aclearancebpening 5V! in the part Sb of the frame and lies at rightangles to theaxis just mentioned above. This rod has conical bearings 52at its end which pivotally engage respective openings 53 in the sidearms fila of the supporting lever. These side arms aresprung-apart sothat they tend normally to bedisengagedfrom the pivot bearings but areheld constrained by means of a bolt 5d so as to engage the pivotbearings with a light pressure. It will accordingly be observed that thesupporting member lll has a universal mounting andthat it is free topivot Yvertically about the bearings 52, and is free to pivot laterallyabout'the pivots 49.

Mounted in the side arms ofthe'lever 'at the free ends thereof are twocone pivots 554 which engage the hub 55a o f .a styluslever 5'6 tosupport the lever pivotally on a lateral axis. Mounted in one arm ofthis stylus lever are recording and reproducing styli 51 and 58 spacedfrom one another lengthwise of the lever. Secured 'to the other arm ofthe stylus lever is a leaf spring i an end portion of which cooperateswith'the 'end portion of this arm to forma fork at the end of the styluslever. This fork engages asa clamp a transverse part--a partsubstantially parallel to the record-of a U-shaped member 59 that i'ssecured to the endportion of 'the armature 43. By this engagement of,the'fork withthe ymember "59 lthe stylus lever 'is directly connectedslidably and pivotally to the armature 43. This connection provides thestylus lever and its supporting lever 41 with a lateral freedom ofmovement relative to the translating unit because the stylus lever isfree to slide laterally along the member 59, and it provides theselevers also with an upand-down freedom of movement relative tothetranslating unit because the stylus lever is free also to slidelengthwise thereof relative to the member 59.

A selective engagement of the recording and reproducing styli 51 and 58with the record is produced by shifting the frame 34 back and forthwithin the housing 30 as aforementioned. This shifting is accomplishedas the hand lever 21 is e' y turned by a rocker system controlled by theca m device 2|. This rocker System comprises asrock lever 6| pivoted ona shaft 62 between two'upright standards 63 on the head portion 35a. ofthe housing 3E. This rock lever has a depending arm la which pivotallyengages a transverse slot 64 in the upper part of the frame 34, and hasa rearwardly-extending arm SIb on which is mounted a roller 65. Theroller 65 engages aslot 66 provided in the end portion of a lever 61that is pivoted at the back of the rod l2 on the shaft |23aforementioned. The lever 61 carries a roller 68 which overlies the cam23, and it has a de pending arm which carries a second roller 69 thatunderlies this same cam. The cam 23 has a central dwell 23a receding bysteps 23h and 23e at each end. When the cam device 2| is in its recordposition shown in Figure l, the upper roller 68 contacts the dwell 23aand the lower roller 59 contacts the respective innermost step 23e tohold the lever 61 in its uppermost position.

The rock lever 6| is therefore held in its most counterclockwiseposition, as viewed in Figure l, to place the translating unit in itsmost rearward position relative to the record. In this position of thetranslating unit the recording stylus 51 engages the record as shown inFigure 1. As the cam device 2| is turned clockwise to its neutralposition, the cam 23 contacts the roller 69 to swing the lever 51downwardly to its intermediate position wherein both rollers 58 and 69register with the intermediate steps 23h at the respective ends of thedwell 23a. As the lever 61 is swung to its intermediate position thetranslating unit is moved forwardly through about half the distance ofthe space between the recording and reproducing styli. As thetranslating unit is moved to this intermediate position, two stationarypins 10, carried by the housing 3U, slidingly engage respectiveidentical cams 1| provided on the side arms 41a of the supporting leverand cam this lever upwardly so as to hold the styli disengaged from therecord as the translating device is shifted between recording andreproducing conditions. Upon further turning the cam device 2| clockwiseto its reproducing position the cam 23 contacts the lower roller E9 androcks the lever 61 into its downmost position, the lower roller 69 beingnow in contact with the dwell 23a and the upper roller 68 inregistration with the innermost step 23o. This further downward movementof the lever 61 causes the translating unit to be shifted furtherforwardly so as to place the reproducing stylus 58 substantially in theposition formerly occupied by the recording stylus 51. As thetranslating unit is so shifted into its reproducing position, the pins10 are disengaged from the cams 1| and the support lever 41 is free toplace the reproducing stylus in contact with the record.

When the device is conditioned for recordingthe recording stylus is heldin contact with the record with the desired amount of pressure by theIweight of the supporting lever 41 and of thel stylus lever 56. Also, inthe recording condition of the translating device the supporting leveris held in a centralized position against lateral movement. The means bywhich this is accomplished comprises a compound lever 12 pivoted nearits base at opposite sides of the frame onto the rod 50. This lever hastwo upstanding arms 12a and is urged in a clockwise direction, as it isviewed in Figure 1, by a tension spring 13 connected between a lowerpart thereof which bridges the arms 12a and the top part of the gimbalframe 48. When the translating device is conditioned for recording thetwo arms 12a are pressed by the spring 13 against an abutment face 14 onthe head 30a to hold the supporting lever stationary relative to thehousing 3U in respect of its lateral freedom of movement. When thedevice is shifted into reproducing condition, however, the lever 12 ismoved out of contact with the abutment face 14 and the tension of thespring 13 is taken up by the abutment of the aforementioned lower partof lever 12 against the under side of the bolt 54 carried by thesupporting lever 41. As a result, the tension force of the spring 13 isnow transmitted to the supporting lever to urge the lever clockwise andincrease the pressure of the reproducing stylus against the record.Because the lever 12 is now out of contact with the abutment face 14 thesupporting lever has a lateral freedom of movement so that thereproducing stylus may track the record.

I have herein particularly shown and described a preferred embodiment ofmy invention but it will be understood that this embodiment is subjectto changes and modifications without departure from the scope of myinvention, which I endeavor to express according to the followingclaims.

I claim:

1. In a phonographic translating device adapted for coaction with amoving record: the combination of a translating unit having a vibratileportion moved in a plane at right angles to the surface of the record, amember rigidly secured to said vibratile portion and having a part lyingtransverse to said plane, a supporting lever universally pivoted withrespect to a fixed part of said unit, a stylus lever pivoted to saidsupporting lever on an axis transverse to said plane, said stylus leverincluding a part which pivotally and slidably contacts said transversepart of said member, and a spring mounted on one of said parts andbearing against the other of said parts for retaining said stylus leverin pivotal slidable contact with said member.

2. In a unitary device for recording on and reproducing from a movingrecord including a carriage mounted for traveling movement along therecord: the combination of a motor-generator translating unit includinga vibratile element mounted on said carriage for movement at rightangles to that of said carriage and in directions oblique to the record,a supporting lever carried with said unit and mounted for universalmovement with respect thereto, a stylus lever pivoted to said supportinglever and slidably pivotally and interlockingly connected to saidvibratile element, recording and reproducing styli mounted on saidstylus lever and spaced from each other in the direction of movement 'Ilof said unit relative to said carriage, and means attente sai-u abutmenttace, a gin-thai trame patted tol :S'd linitfn ail? aX'S Substantiallylin a yEil-arie -at -ri'ghi angles to the lie/oord surface, a supportinglvrlpivoted Ito said gin'ffbalf-raineon arr airis' in .a transversepiane substantially parallel--y te -iiej Yrecord sur-face, fa stylus`Aix'rer tpivot'ed to said supporting level-gana neatly pivetauy'eennettdto said' unite recording and reproducing mounted -011- said stylus,nea-ns-for shiftingsad zuriit `relative to said .hou-sing toL move1saidsty-li 'seleotively into contact' with the record, -a'bitureateollever -pivote'd -tosaid-'supporting -levi' A'on 'an aXis -insaidtransverse plane, 4and? spr ng means connected bet-Ween saidbifuro'ate'd Elever 'andV said-gimloal frame for' pressing the formeragainstsaidvr abutment faee when saidA reording `stylus -is in ContactW'itithe record 'for ll'i'oliiing saidsupporting level" from-transversemovement Vrelative tol said iin-it. Y f

41 The combinatiorse't forth' inolaim Blintludev ing means` interposedbetween said bifuroated and supporting leverslfor-c'ansi-ng fsaidspringmeans to be coupled vto'fsaid supportin'gflevei'to it-I towards' 'the'record* when Sai-irl unit" is shi'ftedf to place said 'reproducing''stylus in" con"-l tact withl the reoordz 5; 'In a monographietranslating apparatus adapted flor toatftiony with a moving feccia .andincluding a carriage mounted for movement along the record-: thecombination of a translatig un't including a Vibratile portion, alvhousing member for said unit mounted on said bar riagt means mountingsaid translating uniton said housing' member for rectilinear movement indireotions oblique to the record, a supporting lever fpivoted Yto sa'idunit for universalniovement and straddling said unit, a stylus leverpivoted to a free end portion of said supporting lever and having aslidable pivotal conneotion to said vibratileportion, recording andreproducing styli mounted. on said stylus lever, means for shifting saidunitv to place said styli se'leetivelyv into oontact with Ythe record,and means carried by vsaid housingmember for oamrning said supportinglever' to withhold saidV styli from eoritaot With the record duringlthe' shifting of said unit.

LOUIS Z. LA. P.'(.`,RlIST.A

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record 'in' the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS NumberV Name' Date' 454,942 Edison June 30, 18911,067,530 Lindstrom July 15', 1913 1,744,047 Keller Jan. 21, 1 '9301,870,447 Foley Aug'. 9, 1932 2,318,308 Harris May 4, 1943 2,326,625D'Toro Aug. 10, 1943 $359,370V La Forest Oct. 3, 1944 FOREIGN PATENTSNumber- Country Date 270,086 Germany Feb. 10, 1914

